The War
by Pyromanic Kittie
Summary: Vincent's "Secret life"
1. The Meeting

**A/N: No my Sesshoumaru and Yoko stories are not dead. it's just that I'm not liking how the chapters are turning out so I keep rewriting them and I thought that I might as well post something I like in the mean time.**

**Enjoy!**

**PS Yes they should be up soon! (I hope!)**

For months Vincent has locked himself in that coffin saying he needs to "repay for his sins"…

Well… He's been in there for years… but ever since I found him about three years ago he "awakens" to see me…

I stand at the window of the house we've shared when he's "amongst the living" and smile as I place my hand on my stomach. Soon… Soon he will come for me and he will see I haven't lost it this time… Soon…

* * *

There's a knock at the door… Well a loud banging actually…

"Open up!!" A man yelled.

I stood up and walked to the door slowly, peaking out the tiny eyehole Vincent had made me swear to use when he wasn't here; I also carried one of his older guns.

"Who is it…?" I called.

"We are the Shinra! Open this door or we'll bust it down!!"

I gasped startled and opened the door slowly. "Yes…? How can I help you officers…?"

"We've heard rumors that one of the men from the Avalanche group lives here." One of the men answered as they pushed me aside and barged into my house.

I stumbled slightly and hit my table. "I don't know where you heard that he lives here but he's no longer here. He's been missing for a very long time."

The only girl in the group turned to look at me. "The rumor said he was here a few months ago."

"Shut up Elena. You don't need to explain yourself all the time." The man with long hair said.

"I'm sorry Reno." She answered.

"Well as you can see I'm the only one here. I'm the only one that's been here for a long time."

The bald one nodded to the man named Reno.

"Alright fine… But if we find out you've hidden him somewhere you'll be severely punished…" With that they left.

I closed the door behind them and leaned against it signing.

Oh Vincent…

There was another knock on the door, this time it was soft.

I groaned and stood slowly; I had left the gun by the door.

"Look I don't know where he—" I stopped and a smile spread across my face. "Oh Vincent…"

There before my stood the man I loved. He looked just as he did when he left me almost four months ago…

"Marie…" He murmured.

I nearly leapt into his arms until I saw the man behind him. "Oh I'm sorry… Forgive me… where are my manners… Please… Come in…" I moved away from the door and into the house.

Vincent's eyes never left my body.

I smiled at him. "Can I get you anything…?"

"Marie… You don't need to be so formal with me…" he answered softly.

God I loved his voice I just wanted to melt into his arms.

"What about your guest…?" I turned to look at the man behind him. He wasn't very tall and he was blonde; not my type at all.

Vincent shook himself as if remembering the man behind him. "Cloud this is Marie… Marie this is Cloud…"

I smiled at the short man. "So you're the one that woke my Vincent… I should thank you." I bowed slightly. "Thank you, Cloud."

"It's no problem. I didn't understand why he was sleeping anyway so I kind of forced him awake."

I laughed then. "Yes I suppose I did the same."

He blinked.

"Oh… So Vincent never told you…" I turned to Vincent. "Well… I suppose if he didn't tell you I have no right to tell you."

Vincent turned to Cloud. "I'll catch up to you later… I need to speak to Marie…"

Cloud nodded and left.

What a nice man.

"Marie…"

I turned to look up into Vincent's eyes and smiled. "Hello my darling…"

He smiled as he pulled me to him. "I'm sorry I leave you all alone so much…"

I pressed my face to his chest and breathed in deeply; he always smelled so good to me… "Don't say that… I told you I understood… and I said as long as you came to me once in awhile then I'd be alright alone…"

He lifted my chin so I looked up into his face again; he looked sad.

"I'm here now…" He began. "But… I have to leave again… I have to go with Cloud…"

I smiled slightly. "I know…" I murmured.

"I have to get my revenge…"

I nodded. "I know…"

He leaned down and touched his nose against mine softly. "You were always so supportive…" he murmured as he kissed me softly.

I moved back and gazed up at him. "Take me with you…"

"I can't… You'll be in danger with me…"

"I'm in danger staying here… They know you're my husband… They've already come looking for you…"

He stiffened. "Who…"

"There were three of them… The girl was named Elena and one of the men was Reno… The other one never said his name…"

"Rude…" He looked down at me. "Alright… I'll ask if you can come…"

I nodded as he walked out. "Vincent…"

He turned to look at me.

"We've made it past the last try…" I smiled.

He positively beamed at me; I knew how rare those were. He walked back over and pulled my against him with both arms; which also was rare. "I will make sure you can come with us…"

With that he walked out.

I smiled and picked up the few items I knew I was going to need soon; I was going with him… He wouldn't let Cloud say no.

I looked up as I heard Vincent walk through the door, this time followed by a train of people.

"Marie… This is Cloud's group… they're trying to save the planet…"

I smiled. "I know…" I looked at each person in turn. "I am Marie… Vincent's…" I stopped I didn't know what he would want me to call myself.

"She's my wife…" He answered.

"You're wife?" One of the girls asked.

"Yes, my wife."

I smiled at him.

"Are you sure you want to come with us…? You would be safer staying here." The man with a gun on his arm asked

"No… The Turks already know I live with her… They've already come searching for me…" Vincent answered. "She would be safer with us than by herself."

Cloud looked around. "Do any of you object…?"

They all shook their heads or grunted or said no.

"Then it's settled. Welcome to the team Marie."

I smiled at them all then looked up at Vincent. "Thank you…"


	2. Who is Marie

"Why don't you all stay here for a time…? At least so you can make a plan as to where you wish to go next." I stated as I looked at the tired and ragged group.

Something was wrong. They looked like they had been through hell and back. Maybe someone died…?

I looked over at Vincent whose eyes hadn't once left me as I wandered back and forth in the room. To see such love from a man who had such a hard past was nothing short of amazing, it always made me smile. I knew that in the beginning it was because I reminded him of her but I knew it was different now and that made me truly happy.

"We need to keep going; Sephiroth doesn't stop and rest when he's tired." Cloud said as he hit the table.

I swung around, my skirts twisting around my legs after I turned. "Now look here Mr. Cloud." I huffed as I place my hands on my hips. "You want to run yourself ragged and tire yourself to the bone be my guest but these other fine people may wish to rest. And if I know a thing or two about Sephiroth is that he thinks he's already so far ahead of everyone else that he indeed does rest."

"Look 'ere missy…" The man with the gun arm started.

"Don't you 'look here missy' me! You may be older than me but don't think you can push me over."

That shut him up.

I huffed and spun around, my skirts twisting around me then billowing out as I marched from the room and into one of the small spare bedrooms.

I could hear them talking as I busied myself with the room. I had lost my temper and I knew it… but sometimes it's just hard when you hear things that aren't coming from their mouths…

There was a soft knock on the door. "Marie…?" It was one of the girls.

"You can come on in darlin' the doors unlocked." I answered as I turned to face the door.

The girl with long brown hair walked in nervously. "Can I talk to you for a moment…?"

I smiled. "Of course." I swept my arm across the room. "Sit where ever you would like."

"Thanks." She smiled as she perched on a chair.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked as I scooted the other chair next to her.

"Well… I guess I should apologize for how Cloud acted out there… You see we've been through a lot and I think he's taken it a lot harder than the rest of us…" She looked utterly depressed and instantly I regretted how I had acted myself.

"I'm sorry as well for how I acted. I knew something horrible had happened to all of you and I shouldn't have snapped like that." I said as I patted her leg lightly. "I know you've all been through hell and I know you all really need to just rest before you continue... but I think it's also a selfish thing on my part." I smiled wirily.

"Well how long has it been since you've seen Vincent...?" she asked.

"Well... a little over four months ago..." I answered as I counted.

"I think you deserve a little time with him before we leave here... You need time with your husband."

I smiled at her. "Thank you err..." I blushed, I hadn't found out her name.

"Tifa" She answered. "Tifa Lockhart."

I nodded. "Thank you Tifa. That is very generous of you."

Tifa smiled, stood and left, leaving me alone in the guest room; I sighed.

_Well there you go again Marie… You hurt someone's feelings with that quick temper of yours. You know you're very lucky that Vincent is so calm and grounded, he may have never stayed with you if he wasn't your complete opposite…_

The door opened as I scolded myself so I didn't hear the person enter the room until a hand touched my shoulder.

"Ayee!!" I squealed as I jumped and spun around to face the person who touched me.

"Vincent!" I squeaked as I placed my hand over my heart. "You scared my half to death!"

He just smiled at me. "Come…" He beckoned as he turned back to the door.

"Oh Vincent… I don't…" I started. "Maybe I should…" I tried again. "I've done enough damage to your friends already…" I finished.

Vincent turned back to me, cupping my cheek in his hand. "I know you meant well Marie…" He said as I rubbed my cheek against his palm, god I missed his touch. "Come out with me… You can apologize if you wish… but don't hide away in here… I've missed you too much to have you apart from me in our own home…" He had moved closer to me as he spoke.

I opened my eyes, after realizing I had closed them, and gazed up into his face with my cheek still cupped in his hand. "I'm sorry, darling, if I have hurt you by leaving… You know how I am when I let my temper get away from me…" I sighed. "I'll come out with you…"

He smiled at me. "Thank you…" He murmured as he leaned down and brushed his lips softly across mine. "I love you Marie…"

I smiled and rubbed my nose against his as he pulled away. "I love you too Vincent…"

Begrudgingly I lifted my cheek from his hand and straightened out my skirts. "Alright… Let's go out there…"

Vincent smiled at me again and turned back to the door, opening it up and letting me out first.

As I stepped out of the room I saw that they hadn't really moved from where they had originally placed themselves, except maybe Tifa, they all looked sort of like statues.

Once I was fully in the small kitchen/living area I bowed. "I am truly sorry for losing my temper with all of you… I know things have been difficult through your journey and I know that you have all faced something very tough recently…" I stopped and gazed up at Vincent. It was easy to read him, mostly because he actually opened it up to me when he knew that it would help me. I turned back to my guests. "I'm sorry that you have lost a friend… She seems like she was a great person…"

All of them stared at me like I was crazy and I realized my mistake a moment too late.

"Oh dear…" I murmured, tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to repress the memory of what happened the first time I let myself slip.

Vincent placed his hand on my shoulder, he knew what had happened and he knew how much it had damaged me and how hard it was for me to tell him.

"Please… excuse me…" I whispered as I turned quickly and ran up the stairs.

* * *

Vincent sighed as he watched Marie run up the stairs. He turned back to the people he had traveled with through this journey of revenge.

"How did she know…?" Tifa whispered as she finally tore her eyes away from the stairwell.

"Because Vincent told her." Barret snapped as he glared at Vincent.

Vincent hardened under Barret's accusing gaze. "Technically I did not tell her with words…" He replied.

"Well what in the hell does that mean?" Cid questioned.

Vincent closed his eyes, he knew he'd have to tell her secret if he wanted them to drop the subject. "Marie is… well… Marie is special…" He started.

"We got that part. You obviously love her and if anyone can get Mr. cold hearted to fall in love has to be special." Yuffie joked.

Vincent shook his head. "It's not just that that makes her special…" He sighed, there was no other way.

"Marie is psychic…."


	3. Marie's Attacker

"Psychic? Marie is psychic?" Tifa squeaked.

"What do you mean she's psychic…?" Nanaki asked.

Vincent squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "She mostly can… hear… people's thoughts from inside their own mind… It use to drive her crazy, hearing two different things coming from the same person…"

"She can read our minds?!" Barret bellowed as he shoved his chair away from the table.

"You think it's much different then what I do? I read fortunes." Cait Sith retorted.

"Look." Cloud started. "She obviously didn't know about Aeris until she looked at Vincent so she obviously doesn't just go sifting through our brains any time she wants to, and besides, she's been trying to help us by risking her life and letting us stay here when the Turks already know that she's associated with us. I think we should just shut up and forget what happened."

Everyone was silent in the room.

"Maybe she can help us…" Yuffie nearly whispered as she tried to break the silence.

"What do you mean help us?" Cid asked from his spot against the wall.

"Well…" Yuffie started nervously. "Maybe she could help us like Aeris did. Don't, don't get me wrong" She added suddenly, afraid she'd hurt someone's feelings. "She can't replace Aeris, no one can, but maybe she can help us find Sephiroth or maybe she can tell us what we need to do or… something like that…" She finished slowly.

Everyone sat there silently mulling over what Yuffie had brought up.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea…" Tifa started. "I mean… She's coming with us anyway maybe she'd be willing to help us in return…"

Suddenly there was a loud crash from upstairs.

"What in the—" Barret started.

"Marie!" Vincent called as he turned and ran up the stairs. He ripped open the door to the bedroom only to see Marie laying face down on the floor by the shards of the bowl that had fallen with her.

"Marie!" He knelt beside her and turned her over in his arms.

Her face was wet and he noticed that the rug under the broken bowl was also wet. There was a cut running across her cheek and he picked out a small sliver of china from it.

"Marie… Marie wake up…" He whispered as he shook her gently.

"What happened?" Cloud asked from the door.

"I don't know…" Vincent answered as he looked down at his wife. "Come on Marie… Wake up…"

* * *

My eyes opened slowly and I was looking up into Vincent's face.

"Vincent…?" I murmured as my brain tried to catch up to what was happening around me. "What's going on…?"

He relaxed visibly, at least from where I could see him. "You fell, Marie… You were unconscious…" carefully he picked pieces of something from my face and hair; my cheek started to burn.

When he moved his hand across my face I saw what he was picking off of me, china shards…

That's when I remembered what had happened… I felt my eyes widen as I tried to sit up. "Where is he?" I asked when I was sitting up.

"Where is who…?" Vincent asked calmly as he kept his hand on my back; he's been through this before.

I shook my head and stumbled to me feet. "Where is he? Where did he go?" I spun around looking around the room widely.

"Where is who Marie… What did you see in here…?" Vincent kept his distance as he knew what happened most of the time with me.

I bit my lip, I had started shaking uncontrollably by now. "He's not supposed to be able to come in…" I choked.

"What's wrong with her?" Barret asked as he stood next to Cloud.

Vincent watched as I looked around the room frantically for the phantom man. "Well… it could be a number of things…"

"What do you mean 'a number of things'?" Cloud questioned while he watched me.

"Well… Marie… She can do more than just read people's minds… Sometimes she can get sucked into a memory from them… or even a memory of her own if something triggers one of them to resurface… Or… well…" Vincent sighed . "It may be something in the future that she saw…"

"She can see the future?"

"Rarely… but yes…"

Tifa and squeezed up between Cloud and Barret and watched as I ran back and forth in the room; finally she had enough.

"Don't!" Vincent cried as she walked up to me.

CRACK

The sound of Tifa's slap echoed in the small room.

Vincent grabbed her arm and yanked her away from me. "You shouldn't have done that…" he hissed.

My cheek started to turn bright red as I kept my head turned in the direction that Tifa's slap had turned it. Suddenly tears spilled down my cheek as I collapsed to the floor in a heap.

"Look what you did." Vincent growled as he shoved Tifa back into Cloud. "You can't touch her when she get's like that." He knelt beside me as he debated on whether or not he could touch me and not cause more problems.

"Vincent I—" Tifa started.

"Leave." He snapped.

"But…"

"LEAVE!" He bellowed.

Barret pulled Tifa out of the doorway and Cloud closed it behind him.

"Marie…?" Vincent whispered.

I hiccupped softly and started reaching out.

Vincent smiled slightly and grasped my hand with his. "I'm right here…" He murmured. With his free hand he undid his cape, draped it over my shoulders, and then pulled me into his lap.

I sobbed and grabbed the front of his shirt. "He was here… I thought he couldn't get in…"

"Who was here…? Who isn't supposed to get in…?" He asked as he ran his hand up and down my spine.

I lifted my face, wrapped my hands around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss. "Tell me you love me… Tell me you mean it… Tell me you won't ever leave me…" I begged as fresh tears spilled down my face.

Vincent searched my face, seeing how scared what I had seen. "I love you Marie… I always will love you…" he laid my head against his chest, holding it there with his good hand. "I'll never leave you… I promise…"

I balled his shirt in my fist as I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Sephiroth was here…"


	4. A Good Hope

"What do you mean 'Sephiroth was here'?" Vincent asked as he stared down at me.

My bottom lip trembled as fresh tears filled my eyes and a pained look crossed Vincent's face.

"I'm not mad at you Marie I'm just concerned…" He murmured.

I gazed up into his face searching for any signs of anger, and then I gently sifted through his thoughts as he always let me. When I was finally satisfied that he wasn't angry with me I took a deep, shuddering breath. "I don't know how he got in… One minute I closed the door and the next I was up against the wall by my neck…" I whispered as I kept my cheek pressed against his chest.

"Why didn't you leave the room…?"

"I wasn't going to let him to our guests. The door can't be opened or the seal will break and He'll know who's here…"

"What did he want…?"

"He wanted Cloud… Something about Jenova cells… Bu there wasn't any way that I would let him to you or the people downstairs…"

"Why didn't you call for me…?"

"The door can't be opened… If it's opened he's free to run through the house and harm anyone here…"

"So you let him attack you?"

I shook my head and started trembling again. "He won't hurt me…"

"Why not…?"

I gripped Vincent's shirt tighter in my fist and fumbled through his mind again, trying to figure out if he will be mad at the next thing I had to tell him. "Because he… he thinks the baby is his…" I whispered.

I felt Vincent stiffen under me as a hundred questions bombarded my mind. "What do you mean…?"

"That night… That the baby was conceived… I… I had a nightmare…"

"I remember you having a nightmare but you told me you didn't remember what it was."

"I remembered…" I whispered. "It was Sephiroth… and he… he raped me…" I quivered and buried my face in my hands. "I thought it was just a dream… Some nightmare he cooked up to torture me with when you left me to return to your coffin… I didn't think it was real…"

"And… is the baby… his…?" He finally asked after sitting stock solid under me.

I shook my head profusely. "No, no the baby is yours… I felt it conceive long before that nightmare even happened… It's yours Vincent"

Vincent sat there cradling me in his lap silently. I smiled weakly when he shifted my wait and placed his good hand against my stomach.

"How did you make him leave…?" He finally asked.

I pointed to the broken bowl. "I threw life stream on him…"

"You did what?!" He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me away from him and forced me to look up at him. "Are you Crazy?!"

I blinked up at him, confused. "I was told too…"

"You were told to…?"

I nodded. "It hurt him and he threw me away from him. He was smoking."

Vincent's mouth twitched then suddenly he was laughing; I blinked.

"What's so funny?" Suddenly Vincent pulled me to him and kissed me hard; I blushed.

"Do you know what that means?" He asked as he finally pulled away.

I shook my head as I tried to relearn to breathe.

"That means he can't make himself part of the life stream and destroy the planet that way." He smiled at me and kissed me hard again.

I pulled away gasping. "Okay, okay no more…" I laughed.

Vincent smiled, picked me up and spun me around. When he stopped he set me down on the bed lightly and knelt in front of me. "Let me see…" He murmured as he looked up at me.

I smiled, moved him back and stood up, turning my back to him I held up my hair, revealing the long silk ribbon that tied the corset of my dress shut.

Vincent smiled and kissed the back of my neck as he carefully untied the corset. "I still don't even understand how you tie yourself into this when you are alone, or even why you do it."

I smiled at him over my shoulder. "Because you like it…"

Vincent chuckled. "You're right… I do…" he pulled the ribbon free and took the corset off me.

The dress now looked like a slip that tied just over my breasts. I slid myself free of the under skirt and untied the tiny bow on my dress; it slid down my and off body, leaving me in my underwear.

Vincent lifted me out of the pool of fabric, set me on the bed again and knelt in front of me. "You can hardly tell…" He murmured.

I smiled at him. "I'm just barely starting to show… but the baby's there…"

Vincent slid himself free from his boots, gently laid me down, climbed onto the bed laying himself down on his metal arm and placing his head just above the tiny bump in my stomach.

"Are you ready…?" I asked softly as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his fingers running back and forth over my skin.

His fingers stopped moving as I felt the soft humming in his mind that told me he was thinking. "I wasn't ready the first time…" He started as he remembered the tragic loss of our first try; I fought not to cry. "But yes… I think I am ready now…"

I smiled and ran my fingers down his cheek. "That makes me happy to hear that…"

* * *

Vincent watched as Marie slowly drifted to sleep, he knew that she had worn herself out with the excess energy she had used today. When he was she sure was definitely asleep he slid off the bed, covered her up, picked up her clothing, laid them on a chair in the room and quietly left the room.

As he came down the stairs he noticed that only Tifa was sitting at the table.

"Is she alright…?" She asked as she saw Vincent entering the room.

"She'll be fine, she's sleeping now." He answered.

"I'm sorry… I… I didn't know…"

"It's fine. She's fine."

Cloud walked in then and noticed Vincent had come down stairs. "So what happened?"

"Nothing…" Vincent lied. "Just a bad memory she had locked herself into."

"She knows something that we need to know… I can tell from how she reacted when Cloud said Sephiroth's name."

"That's true, she does know something. Did she tell you?" Tifa asked

Vincent shook his head, lying yet again to the people he had accompanied for so long. "She didn't tell me anything.

"So what do we do now…?" Nanaki questioned from a spot that had been out of Vincent's line of sight.

Vincent sighed. "We wait…"


	5. WEAPON and the Cetra

I woke up in an empty room. It took me a whole minute to realize that Vincent's return wasn't actually a dream and that yes, Sephiroth did actually get into my bedroom and threaten me for the lives of the people I was hiding from him.

I slid my feet off the bed and stood, the room began to swim and I stumbled, falling to my knees.

"Marie!" Vincent called from the now open door. He rushed in and knelt beside me trying to decide if it was okay to touch me.

I smiled at him. "No, no… I'm all right… It's just the baby…"

Suddenly the baby decided to tell me that she was not happy with me and I wobbled my way to the bathroom.

Vincent came in behind me, brushing my hair back and out of the way. "Have you had morning sickness this time around…?" He asked as he handed me a glass of water once I had sat down against the wall.

I shook my head as I took the glass from him. "This is the first of the morning sickness…" I took a sip of the water, swished it, and spat it into the toilet, which I proceeded to flush yet again.

Vincent knelt between my legs and started to check me over. "Feel better…?" he asked once he had finished; I nodded. "Good…" He smiled and slid his arms around my back and under my legs to lift me up and carried me back to the bed. He laid me down gently on my side then, after undressing, climbed in behind me.

I sighed contently and turned over laying my head against his shoulder once he had gotten comfortable. He ran his fingers lightly over my cheek after making sure I was covered.

"I love you Marie…" He murmured against the top of my head as he kissed me.

"I love you too Vincent…" I replied.

* * *

I woke with a start, nearly causing Vincent to fall off the bed beside me.

"Marie?" He questioned as he sat up.

I shook my head quickly as the fire-y red color of my hair swished in it's tangled mess.

"Marie…" He stated slowly. "What is it? What are you seeing…?"

"We have to leave…" I murmured, my eyes staring wide open at the wall at the end of the bed, but that wasn't what I was seeing.

"What do you mean Marie? We have to leave…?"

I nodded vigorously. "Vincent…" I murmured as I turned to stare at him. "They're coming…"

He stared at my face then, without question, got up and dressed himself quickly. "I'll warn the others."

"Vincent…" I called after him as he reached for the door; he turned to look at me. "Don't go out of the house without me…" I murmured as a tear slid down my face from my unblinking eye.

He came back over to me and kissed my lips softly. "I won't… I won't let that happen…" He knew what I had seen. With that he stood and ran out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

As I sifted through what I had seen I slid off the bed to get dressed. I pulled on the dress I had been wearing earlier then, with stiff shake-y fingers, I deftly tied the corset on under my breasts. _At least I'm still small enough to wear this…_ I thought to myself.

Once in the layered dress, I slid into my very worn, but very comfortable thigh high leather boots; the very same I had been wearing when I had found Vincent. As soon as they were on I ran a quick comb through my hair and added a ribbon to 'hold it all back' but knew I was lying to myself if that was the real reason I had so deftly added it to my hair. With that I ran out the door, grabbing the tiny pouch I had left on the chair and tied it up under my corset as I ran down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Nanaki questioned as I swiftly darted past him; I didn't answer.

I hitched up my skirts as I hurtled through the door only to skid to a halt as I stared up at one of the planet's protectors… the WEAPON…

I stared; I couldn't help it. I knew how large it was in my vision but in reality it was much larger.

"It's WEAPON…" Someone beside me whispered in awe.

I turned to see that it was in fact the older blonde man who had spoken. "It's not something you want to be in awe over…" I murmured as I looked back up to the creator.

It was the water one; I could see it's long snake like tail that guided it through the water at amazing speeds. Momentarily I wondered who had woken these devastatingly beautiful protectors and then I saw the answer in the mind of my husband; Sephiroth had the meteor material… the one piece of solidified life stream that could destroy this planet.

As if it had been waiting to be addressed the gushing flow of the green water-like light broke through the earth causing me to careen precariously over the edge.

"MARIE!!" Vincent called from the door of the house.

"Oh no you don't little missy." The man beside me said as he grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me to safety; it was a huge mistake.

Now that he was touching me his memories raced through my mind faster than I was prepared for; I screamed.

"Let go! Oh god, PLEASE!!" I screeched as I tried hard to break free of his grasp. "I don't want to see anymore! Make it stop!!"

Vincent was there then, it presence helped calm me as the rush of memories slowed then finally breaking off as Vincent got the man's grip of my arm.

_Cid…_ I corrected myself as soon as I was free.

Though I wanted a minute to collect myself WEAPON didn't give me the chance. "Look out!" I screamed as I shoved the two men away from me once I saw that the creator's claw was coming down on all of us.

"MARIE!!" I heard many voices scream.

I knew what it had meant to do but I threw my hands up and, as the creator's claw came crashing down, they connected with its skin.

"You don't need to do this…" I murmured as I kept my hands firmly touching WEAPON. "I know this planet is in danger… I can hear it cry out every night… I know that the screams must be unbearable for you… but you don't need to do this…" The ground shook as WEAPON's tail thrashed, causing large tremors to shake the land; I almost lost contact.

"You don't need to do this!" I tried again. "There are many people here, on this planet, that are willing to help save it!"

When the tremors shook the earth this time I was thrown back, skidding across the ground, as I fought to keep consciousness.

"Marie!!" Echoed the voices behind me again as they all ran over to me.

I saw it then, WEAPON's fins spreading out as it opened its mouth wide. The glow of its attack began to shimmer in its open mouth and I knew I didn't have time to send everyone away.

_Please…_ I begged. _Please don't let this kill the baby…_ And I threw my hands up, drawing patterns that the ancients once used. The weak glow of the shield I was creating began to shimmer before us. _Faster, faster!_ I scolded myself.

Seconds before the blast that WEAPON had aimed at us I completed the shield.

It was a direct hit. The crushing power of WEAPON hit my defense full force, ripping a strangled cry from my throat. I could feel the energy from the blast coursing through my body, every cell in my body hummed with it.

Vincent watched me with a pained expression and I knew that he was worrying about the same thing I was.

Tears streaked down my cheek as I shut my eyes so I could focus in rerouting the course of the excessive energy away or around the baby, hoping that it would be enough to save her.

As quickly as it started it was over. WEAPON had released its anger at us so it turned and took to the sea yet again; I fell back to the ground, gasping.

"H-how…" was all one of the girls could say; I couldn't tell which one.

"Those symbols were at the temple of the ancients…" one of the men murmured; I think it was Cloud. "How did she know…?"

I heard a sigh, Vincent's I think, and then the man began to speak. "Marie is as old as I am… She and I stopped aging due to defects in our gene pool… Mine by force and hers is... well by accident… she was born with it… Marie knew all about the Cetra and their prophetic ways… and thinking that they may be the key to why she was who she was she went searching for them…" He stopped as I gasped and twisted myself onto my side, squeezing my eyes shut. "She wasn't a child from one of the Cetra people… she wasn't even from this planet from what she found out."

"Then what is she…?" Someone asked.

Vincent had looked down at me as I opened my eyes slowly, a tear slid across the bridge of my nose; it wasn't from the energy that was still working itself out of my body…

"I don't know…" I murmured my voice filled with pain.


	6. Highwind

I opened my eyes and blinked, I was floating in some viscous solution in a tube.

Where the hell was I?

I turned my head from side to side as I took in everything around me. I could see the metal of the tube, that held the glass in place, wrap around above me along with many machines and computers. A pinging sound echoed weirdly in my tube; I was in a sick bay of some sort.

With my eyes closed, I scanned for the signatures of anyone who was near me… Someone was queasy, someone was pacing, someone was oddly pissed off, and someone was… driving…? There were other brain patterns, but those were the strong ones that echoed in my mind.

But where was this sick bay… I couldn't figure it out.

A quiet whooshing sound suddenly came from the direction I had seen a door.

"She still hasn't woken up…" a girl's voice whispered in a worried tone.

"I know…" someone replied. "But Vincent won't let us give her anything… I guess she doesn't do well with the normal medication… I just hope that putting her in there will keep her stabilized until she wakes up on her own…" They left after that.

So I was in a resuscitation chamber of sorts; I remembered what they were from Vincent's fragmented memory… but how long had I been in here? How long since the WEAPON's attack…?

The door whooshed open again as I tried to go through the memories I had… For the life of me I couldn't remember ever actually passing out.

Someone sighed, the sound echoed oddly in the water-like filled chamber.

"Marie…" The voice murmured; it was Vincent. "Please… open your eyes… Give us some sign that you're alive… You have to live… Don't forget about the baby…" The sound of metal clinking on glass rang through my chamber and I knew that Vincent had put his hand on it.

I opened my eyes slowly, not wanting him to think I had been awake the entire time and just pretending; the brain wave monitor spiked to show him I was conscious.

"Marie?!" He questioned as he stood up and looked down through the top.

I smiled up at him and placed my hand against the cold glass; he looked so much older with all the worry that had been etched into his face.

"Hold on." He told me as he moved away; the heart monitor registered the tiny spike of panic that shot through me. "I'll get you out of there."

The water-like substance that suspended me began to slowly empty from the chamber until I was lying on the bottom; I tried to sit up.

"No, no." Vincent said as he suddenly appeared beside the chamber. "Don't push yourself… You've been unconscious for a while…" The beeping sound that came from the side of the chamber produced a panel in the side of the resuscitation cylinder where Vincent could kneel in front of it and easily slide his arms under me and lift me out.

"But I'm wet…" I protested feebly; it didn't help that my throat was so dry.

"Hush…" He murmured as he carefully laid me on one of the reclining chairs in the room. He left my side for a moment, only to come back with a glass of water; I drank half of it.

"How long have I been unconscious…?" I asked finally.

"Almost a month now…" He answered.

"A month…?" I asked in disbelief, he nodded. "Where are we headed…?"

"To Midgar… There is rumor that a WEAPON has targeted the town due to the Shinra activity there…"

"And what of the water based WEAPON…?"

"It's been killed…" Vincent answered sadly.

I blinked, shocked. "How…?"

"It attacked Junon while Tifa and Barret were being held captive there…"

"And Shinra thought to kill it…?"

He nodded. "They shot it twice with Junon's Mako cannon which has been moved to Midgar…"

"So the aerial based WEAPON has targeted Midgar now since the cannon is there…?"

"That's what we believe…"

I sighed and tried to refocus myself and suddenly a horrible thought hits me. "The baby!" I gasp as I sit up and I rack my brain for the extra signature wave.

"Shh…" Vincent murmured as he pushed me back down. "You haven't lost the baby…"

"Are you sure…?" I questioned as I looked at him.

He smiled. "I'm positive…"

I bit my lip and shuffled through my brain and body until I felt the familiar heart beat pattern I could always feel in the back of my mind; I sighed contently.

Vincent chuckled softly. "See…? What did I tell you…?"

I turned to look at the man I loved and reached for him; he smiled and took my hand in his.

"Rest sweetheart…" Vincent murmured as he kissed my forehead. "I'm not going anywhere…"

I shook my head though he and I both knew that I was still totally wiped out. "I don't want to close my eyes…" I mumbled.

Vincent sighed then lifted me up, climbed into the chair, and placed me in his lap. "Rest…please…"

I smiled and snuggled into his chest, not caring that I was still wet, and quickly fell asleep.


	7. Memories

**A/N: Hey Look!! I actually wrote on this story!!!**

**I hope you guys like it.**

**I need reviews before you get more!!**

**FYI what is going on in this chapter is not in chronological order. The first and last section is about a year or two behind what is actually happening in the story. The second section Marie is about 15 and in the third Marie is roughly 8.**

**Yes I did this on purpose. No you are not allowed to complain about it.**

**Enjoy anyway please!!!  
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"_Hey!!" I called, "Can't you let me out of here?"_

"_Shut up."_

"_My arms are going numb. If I can't feel my arms how am I supposed to help you?"_

_The silver haired man stepped into view. "I said shut up."_

_I stuck my tongue out at him. "Fine be that way." Sighing I laid my head on my shoulder as I scratched another line onto the wall above me; not a line of how long I had been there but of how many times I had annoyed the silver haired man. I closed my eyes and wondered if I would ever see the man with the bright red eyes ever again. Or had I ever met him? Was that just a dream? My dreams and reality had begun to blur as I stayed locked up in this cage. Was he real or fake? Did he know me? Or did I only know him from my dreams…? I wish I knew._

_As my head rested against my arm images began to flash through my mind faster and faster and I knew what was going to happen; I tried to keep my lips closed, to keep sound from escaping._

_The cage opened and the silver haired man walked in. He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. "What are you seeing?"_

_I bit my lip as a tear slid down my cheek._

"_What do you see!!" He shouted as he shook me._

"_Your mother…"_

"_Jenova?"_

"_No Lucrecia… Your birth mother."_

_He growled and slammed my head back into the wall. "Lies." He hissed._

"_I don't lie…" I murmured as I bit back the pain._

_The silver haired man growled again then turned and left, slamming the door behind him._

I wish I wasn't here anymore…_ I thought to myself._ I wish I could just disappear…

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"_Do you feel it…?" I murmured to the wind. "The planet is crying… The life stream is being pulled away… The lives of the people who have passed won't be able to rest easy…"_

"_Marie…" A voice started behind me. "Marie these nice men have come to see you. They say they can help you…"_

_I turned to the voice; it was the woman that I called mother and the two men in question beside her._

_One man was stooped over with black hair pulled back into a pony tail and a boy with silver hair, the latter looked closer to my age._

_I walked over to them. "I know why you're here…" I murmured softly. "I know that you can't help me… you just want to use me…"_

"_Marie!" My 'mother' shouted. "Please excuse her, she's still a child."_

"_It's quite alright." The older man said. "She's a teenager; they like to be defiant sometimes." He inclined to the boy beside him as he spoke._

_I turned to the silver haired boy, his green eyes boring into my liquid gold eyes. "I know you…" I spoke softly. "I've seen your future…"_

_He turned from me just as the older man turned away from my 'mother' to give his full attention to me. "I'm so glad that we can try and help her. She is a very unique case and I'm sure, in time, we will be able to correct it."_

"_Thank you doctor." My 'mother' said. "Thank you so much."_

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"_Hey!!!" A boy called behind me. "What are you doing over there?"_

_I turned to look up at a ten year old boy with red eyes. "I'm talking to the sea." I answered._

"_Can I join you?"_

_I smiled. "I'd like that."_

_The red eyed boy sat beside me, staring off into the slow, frothing waves of the sea before us. "What is it saying?" He asked finally._

"_It says it likes you…" I murmured in reply._

"_Really?"_

"_Mm-hmm" I smiled. "You know what?"_

"_What?" He turned to look at me._

"_I like you too…" I whispered as I blushed. "You're the first person to come near me. Everyone thinks I'm weird."_

"_I think you're pretty!" He said as he stood up. "Come on!" He held his hand out to me. "Let's go play."_

_I slowly reached out to the helpful hand, remembering the times I had and they were of ill intent, but this one felt different. "Okay…" I answered as I took his hand. "Let's go play."_

_The red eyed boy ran off before me, I chased after him laughing. "Wait up!" I would call. "I'm not as tall as you!" I skidded to a halt and turned to the road just in time to see a boy with silver hair following a man with black hair and glasses._

"_I'll see you again soon…" I whispered into the air as I watched them go by._

"_Hey…" The red eyed boy came back over to me. "What are you doing?"_

_I turned to him and smiled. "Nothing!" I touched his arm. "Tag…" I said quietly. "You're it…" With that I took off running._

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_My eyes opened slowly as I stared at an open cage door. _It's open…?_ I questioned as I tugged down on my cuffs, they ripped from the wall. _That's never happened before…_ I dragged my chains out of the cage slowly, stumbling from lack of use of my legs. _I need to open the chains…_ I continued out of the room and spotted a ring of keys to one side with a pair of thigh high boots, pants, and a small top. _Someone's letting me go…

_Thumping on the floor above startled me out of my slowness. I dressed with shaking fingers then headed for the only door. _Please… Please let me escape…_ I stumbled through the rooms that had been my personal hell for so many years of my life and out into a long hallway, I was out of time._

"_I can here you…" A voice called, it was hysterical. "I'm going to take you…"_

_I bit my lip and stared at the blackness that covered most of the hallway. _Hide…_ I told myself. _You must hide… But where…?_ Then I noticed a small door off to one side. _Please let this be the place for me to hide._ I pushed the door open and noticed several open and empty coffins; and one closed one. _Oh god…_ I thought, _I've stepped into my own death…

_Then I heard breathing. I moved towards the sound and realized that it came from the closed coffin, I pushed the lid off._

"_It's you…" I murmured as I stared down at the man lying in the coffin._

_The man's eyes opened and I was once more staring into red eyes. "Go away…" He closed his eyes again._

"_Wait. Please." I called. "You have to help me."_

"_I'm atoning for my sins. I will not be interrupted."_

"_But I'm going to die!"_

_He turned back to me. "What are you talking about?"_

_I pointed to the door. "The silver haired man is coming for me. He's going to kill me if he finds me, please…"_

_He sat up. "Sephiroth…" He hissed._

_I sat there, hoping I had found my savior. "Please…"_

_He turned back to face me. "I'll protect you."_

_I smiled at him and felt a feeling I hadn't felt since they had taken me, hope. "Thank you Vincent…" I murmured._


	8. The City of the Ancients

I woke up, taking a moment to remember where exactly I was. _The ship._ I reminded myself as I slid out of Vincent's arms.

"Marie…?" Vincent questioned as he sat up.

I shook my head as I determined what I was "seeing" and suddenly I knew, I knew where we needed to go. I knew what they were looking for and how to find it. I started for the command deck; Vincent followed me.

"Here…" I said as I pointed to a spot on the holo-glob in the center of the ship's command deck.

"What?" Cid asked from his spot up by the wheel.

"You're trying to go here." I answered.

"Why are we trying to go there?"

I turned to look up at him. "This is where Sephiroth is hiding."

"How come you know so much about him? You're hiding something from all of us that I think we need to know." Cloud said as he walked in.

I sighed as I turned to look at him. "I've known Sephiroth far longer than anyone in this room… I've known him since before he became the man he is today. We've crossed paths more than once in the years before now and I have always been the one to 'know' what it was that he was looking for. I became the key person he needed when he had to find something." I turned to the globe and pointed again to the top section where the frozen crater was. "If the man you seek is truly Sephiroth, this is where you will find his body locked away in the ice."

I watched as Cloud struggled with something in his mind but kept from delving in to find out what it was.

"Fine." He answered finally. "You're still keeping something from us but if you think that's where he's been hiding then that is where we are going."

"Drop me off here." I said before he could leave.

He turned and looked at where I was pointing. "Why would you need to go to the city of the Ancients?"

"The dead speak volumes if only you listen and from what I've gathered there's one dead here that knows something that you all need to know more than anything."

"What dead person…?"

I closed my eyes for a moment before I opened them again and stared into his. "Aerith."

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"Don't expect us to come back and get you." Cloud muttered as he walked with me off the ship.

"I don't expect you to do anything…" I answered as I looked around at the empty city. "So many souls…" I whispered.

He looked at me. "You can hear them?"

"Marie can hear more than just the dead." Vincent answered as he came down with us. "Are you sure you want to do this…?"

I bit my lip but nodded. "I can find things out that will help everyone… Without the help of the dead I won't know how to help everyone with the silver haired man…"

Vincent looked down at me; I hadn't used that term for Sephiroth since he saved me that time ago.

I didn't answer his questioning look I just moved forward onto the walkway and closed my eyes. "So many voices…"

Images superimposed the world around me as I watched the final moments of the girl named Aerith.

_Aerith walked into the city and looked around for a moment, looking at each house in turn before heading quietly to the large center building. Carefully she made her way down to the alter that sat above the water at the bottom. She climbed the few steps into the alter knelt down and prayed._

I lost track of the two men that had been standing beside me, in fact, I had lost track of myself. As the image fluttered in and out of my view I had followed it to the exact place it had gone. I paused for a moment to gather my surroundings hoping that I would be able to retrace the steps I hadn't known I had taken.

The images started to change and I watched again in silence.

_Cloud came running down the stairs. "Aerith." He started as the sudden urge to kill her washed through him._

"I know that power…" I murmured as I watched him struggle against it. "Sephiroth…"

As if summoned by his name the image of Sephiroth came into my view.

Sephiroth turned to Cloud. "So the puppet has cut the strings…" He smirked. "That's fine I can do it myself."

"_Aerith!!" Cloud shouted as he tried to run to her._

_Aerith looked up at Cloud and smiled just as Sephiroth jumped and shoved his long sword through her body. She jerked before her head fell forward and her eyes closed; the white bead in her hair fell off and plinked into the water._

"_Aerith!!!" Cloud yelled as he ran up to the fallen girl, Sephiroth had vanished. He lifted Aerith but it was far too late, she was gone. He walked her body to the water below, wading in until he reached the depths then, in a sad silence, set her body in the water to sink below the cold city of the Ancients._

I felt tears sting my eyes as I watched the scene play out before me. The death of the girl I had never known still struck hard at my heart for I knew that the people I was with now loved her dearly. I hadn't realized that I was sitting on my knees until the ghostly image of the girl I had just seen walked up to me, offering me a hand up.

"Aerith…" I murmured as I took the hand, the dead were not invisible, intangible things to me, but real, solid people that I could touch.

"Hello Marie."

"You know me?"

"I've watched you since you came to this place."

I smiled at her, of course she had, so had every other disembodied soul that was still here. "What can I do to help…?"

"The Holy Materia should be setting into motion but I fear that Meteor will be too close by then for Holy to push it back."

I nodded; I had the same fear not too long before when I had first found out that Meteor had fallen into Sephiroth's hands. "But what can I do?"

"You know the planet like I do. When the time comes, if the time comes, I wish to have your help in using the life stream to help protect this planet in one final act of desperation."

"So I shall be your living conduit while you help push the life stream to the surface?"

She nodded, her face grim. "I know this is not something I should ask of one who has so much life ahead of her, but I fear that you are the only one so connected with this planet as I was."

I touched my stomach, realizing what she meant, but I knew I had to help. "I will help you when the time comes. I wish to save this planet as well."

She smiled. "Thank you."

I smiled in return as he image disappeared. I knew what I had to do.


	9. Marie's True Story

**A/N: The stuff that happens in this chapter are my own ideas. They do not come from any of the games. I shall hunt you down if you take them!!!

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"What do I do now…?" I murmured to no one in particular.

"This way…" A voice answered.

I turned to see a small girl peeking out from behind a pillar. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled brightly. "I'm you!"

I gaped as I stared at the small girl; she had bright copper eyes and raven colored hair. "Are you sure…?"

"I'm positive!" She beckoned to me. "I'm here to show you how to become the conduit and to show you who you are."

"To show me who I am…?" I murmured as I walked towards her.

"Yes." She smiled as she turned and disappeared through a wall.

"Wait!" I cried as I touched the wall; my finger slid into a small crack. _A button…?_ I moved my finger until I felt it catch on something. Carefully I pulled back and a panel slid away to reveal a hidden stair case.

"Quickly, quickly!!" The small girl smiled as she faded in and out of my view.

"You're a recording." It finally clicked with me. "Am I the only one that can see you?"

"Yes silly because you and I are the same person." She walked down the stairs slowly, her image flickering slightly. "I'm a recording into your very genes." She stopped at the bottom of the stairs that opened up into a small round room.

"What is this…?" I asked as I looked around the room, in the center of the room was a small round pedestal that held what looked to be a shattered gem.

"This is the room where you were born in."

"What?" I turned to her. "I don't understand."

"I know… Ifalna, Aerith's mother, was the last of her kind. She was to be here to explain to you why you are here, but she had left this place before you were born. Luckily for everyone you somehow left this place and were raised among the humans.

"Ifalna wasn't able to give her knowledge to Aerith before she passed and sadly even if she had Aerith passed before her time so she couldn't have told you anyway, but that's what I was prepared for.

"I'm coded into your DNA, in actuality I **am** your DNA. You are the only one of your kind in existence. Your life is very important to this planet, without you, this race, the Cetra wouldn't even exist."

"What are you talking about? I'm not old enough to be the mother to an entire race."

"You are, just not the body you're in now. You see." She turned and pointed to the pedestal. "You're born here. The Life Stream takes your body and encases it in pure Materia until the time of your rebirth. Most would say that you are reincarnated but your body is always the same."

"I don't understand. I've been here before?"

"Many times. Here let me tell you a story." The girl smiled as she moved away from the broken Materia.

"Long ago there was another race here before the Cetra. They came to this planet in hopes to make it habitable. They were seers, they saw the past, present, and future along with the dead. They heard the planet speak to them but they weren't able to communicate back because they were not as pure of heart as was needed to speak to the planet. For hundreds of years they thrived here on this planet while making it more and more habitable. They were the ones to create the WEAPONs that protect the planet.

"One day they realized that their people were changing. They went to their brightest seer and were told that there was a girl that would be the one to give birth to an entire new race. They searched their entire race for the one girl, you, me; us. We're that girl, the one that girl gave birth to an entire race.

"Because that race is so pure of heart and so connected to the planet they were able to communicate with everything, they expanded the abilities of their predecessors and expanded on their knowledge.

"But the seer had one more thing to tell them." She stopped and turned to me. "That when the race is about to die out you are to be reborn to give birth to the new race. The child you bear will become a new race of Ancients."

I touched my stomach, feeling the second heartbeat that I had grown so use to and cherished deeply. "But my child isn't special like that. I'm pregnant from a human, not an Ancient."

"Yes but that human has been altered has he not?"

I opened my mouth to argue until I thought about it. "Yes…" I murmured finally. "He has the chaos in him… But what about why I couldn't get pregnant easily or why I lost the first one?" I asked changing the topic.

"You're not a normal female of any race. Since the Life Stream restarts your life you can't be one hundred percent fertile. If you had been with a normal male human you wouldn't have been able to get pregnant at all, but luckily the man you love is changed to the correct type."

I stared at the girl in horror. "Are you saying that because I was destined to love Vincent his life was altered so he could be the father to this 'new race'?"

She nodded.

"So it's all my fault." I murmured as I leaned back against the wall. "If I hadn't loved him he could have the life he wanted…"

"He picked you as well."

"After his whole life was turned upside down."

"Are you sure his life didn't start out altered?"

I stopped; she had made me think back to a part of my life that I didn't look at anymore. "Yes…" I finally answered. "His life was normal until I was taken into that place by the man with the silver hair… I knew him in that first life. He was an innocent boy; he never deserved what happened to him."

"But is he not happy now?"

"I hope he is…" I murmured.

The girl watched me in silence for a moment then moved to the crystallized Life Stream. "How far into the pregnancy are you?" She asked as she touched one of the shards.

"Roughly six months…" I murmured.

"Good." She smiled as she brought the piece she was playing with over to me. "Take this." She said as she handed it to me.

"Why…?" I questioned as I took it.

"That shard is the Life Stream that encased you, with it your baby will become the beginning of the new race."

I looked at the shard and could feel the pulsating life inside it calling out but though I tried I could never answer the call. "How will it make my baby become the new race with this?"

"Put it against your baby."

I bit my lip nervously and prayed it wouldn't cause any harm as I placed it against my bump. The shard glowed brightly before it disappeared into my stomach. I sat there for a moment.

"Is that it?" but the answer to my question didn't come from the girl but inside me.

Energy rushed through my body like it had when WEAPON attacked but this time it felt safe. I felt the planet in a different way than ever before and knew that this was how my child would see and hear the world. When it stopped I gasped and pressed my hand against my child.

"Did you see something?"

I nodded.

"What did you see?"

"I saw the world through her eyes…"


	10. Marie's Job

**A/N: Yay another chapter. I'm not sure how many chapters there will be. One or two more, we'll see.**

**Enjoy!!

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My baby was born just a few weeks after I placed the shard of Life Stream against my stomach, apparently using the Life Stream sped up my pregnancy that she was not premature but fully healthy.

"What will you call her…?" The little girl asked.

"Eveleen." I murmured. "It means Life…"

"For the fact that she's the life of the new people…?"

"No…" I smiled as I touched her nose. "For the fact I was able to bear her to birth… She is my life."

"Now that you know what and who you are it's time for you to go." She moved to the stairs. "You know that there is something you need to do…"

I nodded. "Yes…"

"Then…" She smiled as she led me up the stairs. "You know where you need to go… And who you need to stop…"

I nodded again. "Yes…"

"Close your eyes."

I did and suddenly felt the bite of the winter cold and Eveleen cried out. I opened my eyes and realized we had been moved to the crater. I pulled the coat I had draped over my shoulders tight around me to keep Eveleen from the cold. "It's okay baby…" I murmured as I ripped up part of my dress to make a makeshift sling to lie her in. "You'll be out of the cold in a minute…" I slid my arms into the coat and closed it around both of us, keeping one arm around her small body.

I knew what I had to do. I knew where I needed to be and who I was going against. This was my one shot at helping save the planet. _I have to do this no matter what it means for me…_ I gazed down at my new born baby and felt a pang of sadness in thinking that this may be my only time with her but I had to do what I could; so I began my dredging through the snow covered mountain.

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I lifted the hood of the long coat to see where I was and stopped. "It's here…" I murmured as I reached out with my hand. The air before me shimmered and vanished instantly as I smiled slightly and walked through. "I know what I must do…" I slid through the opening in the barrier and made my way towards the center of the crater.

"Vincent…" I murmured as I pushed the hood back.

The man in red before me turned around. "Marie…"

I smiled at him then looked past his shoulder. "Cloud won't win…"

He looked over his shoulder to see that Cloud was indeed fighting a losing battle. "There's nothing we can do while he has the Jenova cells with him."

I nodded and moved into him. "Open your arms."

He looked at me curiously but opened his arms, pushing back his cloak.

"Good…" I opened my coat and carefully lifted Eveleen out of my makeshift sling.

He stared at me as he held her with his good arm. "But you were only six months when I left you."

"I know…" I murmured as I untied my sling from around me and wrapped his metal gauntlet so he could use his other arm as well. "If I survive this I'll explain everything…" I leaned up and pressed my lips to his. "I love you…" and I went past him.

"Move Cloud." I demanded as I made my way through the group of people to the two battling men. "It's my turn…"

Cloud looked back at me just as Sephiroth charged at him.

"Enough!" I shouted the world around us shook violently, throwing Sephiroth off balance before he was able to hit his target. "Sephiroth your target is me. I'm the one you want. I've been the one you want. I'm the one Professor Hojo picked out specifically for you and I'm the one that got away." I held my arms out. "So come get me…"

He turned towards me, anger flashing in his green eyes. "You're right…" he answered. "You are the one that got away…" Then he charged.

Quickly I threw up a barrier between us and the rest so that there would be no outside casualties before I moved aside of his long sword and grabbed his arm, forcing both of us back into memories.

Images flashed by quickly from moments ago and quickly going back in age to stop in a time that I knew was our far distant past.

The time of Jenova.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_The people of the planet raised a girl in high hopes that she would be able to bare the new generation of their people._

_She was thin and looked different than the rest of the race around her, her bright aqua eyes and shimmering yellow hair stood out against the coppers and ravens everyone else._

"_Adya…" Someone called. "Adya there is something the seers would like you to see."_

_Adya smiled, her aqua eyes shining brightly. "Of course, I shall come see." She followed the woman who had called for her to the alter where the seers stayed while they saw visions in their mind._

"_Adya… The first mother…" They called as one when she entered. "We have seen a troubling time."_

_Adya bowed before she addressed the issue they have brought up. "Is this troubling time with the people or the planet?"_

"_Both Adya." They answered. "We have seen an outside force descending on our planet. She brings with her the replicate DNA of her former planet and intends on having this one as her new home. If she finds people here she will wipe all life out before she started over."_

_Adya listened quietly to what her seers were saying then smiled slightly. "Do not worry for my people before you created protectors for this planet. WEAPON will awaken to defend us and this world if she means us and this planet harm. Do not fear my little ones; we will be able to defend ourselves."_

_The seers let out a collective sigh before they continued their prophecies. "We have also seen the one you can have children with."_

_Adya smiled, this was what they had raised her for, why she had come back this second time. "I am prepared to bear the second generation of the Cetra. Please, tell me where I may find this man and become the Mother."_

"_The man that finds this outside force is the one to be your match."_

_Adya bowed again. "Thank you my seers, I will look for this man."_


	11. The Planet's Life

**A/N: Final Chapter!!

* * *

**

_A young man stepped out of his home to watch an object fall from the sky and slam into the planet in the snowy region._

"_Brahm!" Someone called behind him._

"_Yes?" He asked as he turned. "What is it?"_

"_The mother calls for you. She would like you to come to her home as soon as you've gone to see that it was that landed in the snowy region."_

_Brahm looked abashed before he realized that Adya's seers have probably told her who would see the object from the sky. "Please tell her that I will be there shortly then." With that he turned and left to see what had landed in the snow._

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_"Brahm!" Adya called as she leapt off the throne she was seated in. "Thank you for coming."_

_Brahm smiled, he couldn't help but smile at Adya's happiness. His mind wondering to the fact that he didn't understand how she could always be so happy knowing her life was only here for the race of the Cetra._

_**The Cetra are just using her… If you helped me we could rid this planet of the filthy people who are just using her. Then there would be no one between you and the girl. **__A voice in the back of his mind called out._

_Brahm shook his head, he wondered where the voice came from but quickly tossed it aside as Adya came up to him._

"_Would you take a walk with me?" She smiled at him._

"_Of course Adya." He smiled at her in return as he offered her his arm._

_Adya slid her hand around his arm as she rested her head against his arm._

Adya…_ He thought as he looked down at the small girl. _If only I were special enough to be the one to be with you…_ He walked with her around the city._

Oh Brahm…_ Adya thought as she moved her head enough to hide her face from his view. _If only you didn't have to find that thing from the sky… If only I wasn't who I was… I would have picked you anyway but your fate has been sealed by Jenova…

"_What are you thinking Mother Adya…?" Brahm asked as he noticed her hair covering her face._

"_I was thinking how lovely it was to walk with you." She turned to look up at him and smiled. "Thank you." She stopped before her home._

_Brahm noticed where they had come and began to pull his arm from her grasp but she stopped him. "Adya…?"_

_Adya placed her finger against his lips before she lifted herself up on her toes and pressed her lips against his as she took his hand and lead him inside. _I'm sorry Brahm…

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

I yanked myself free of our trip down memory lane gasping.

"What was that?" Sephiroth asked as he trained his sword in my direction.

"That was our past life…" I said as I stood away from him. "That was your first life here with Jenova. You were a Cetra just like the others during that time but because you searched out Jenova you became tainted. Not pure enough to be a Cetra anymore but still pure of this planet to become the father of the next generation. Because of you Jenova was able to harm this planet but also because of you the Cetra did not die out but evolved to a people that would survive her damage."

Sephiroth turned to me. "You're the one that mother told me about, the one the births the Ancients." He glared at me. "I won't let you bear anymore of them. You will die here."

"No…" I said sadly as I stared at a man who had once been so pure to help me bear new life. "It is you and Jenova who will die…"

He charged me but I knew what was coming, I side stepped just fast enough to get past his blade then shoved a shard of Life Stream up under his rib cage.

"I pray that you will become pure of heart once more, Freed of that evil force…" I smiled sadly and kissed his lips softly. "Thank you for being the Father to my Mother so many years ago. Now, return to the man you were before the corruption…" I turned away from him, leaving him there with the shard of Life Stream, to go to Jenova.

"I'm ready Aerith…"

"I know Marie…" She answered from her place in the Stream.

I moved my hands over my chest, palm towards each other, as I focused all my energy into that void between them. _Please… Protect these people. Protect this planet. Save and restore._ I felt the power surge through me as the group erupted and the Life Stream began to pour up. _Help us. Help us all._ Then I felt the Stream engulf me as it forced it's way up and into Meteor, pushing it away for Holy to destroy it.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Vincent watched at the Life Stream surged through the ground and engulfed his wife, using her as a living conduit for the Stream as it shot to the sky to destroy Meteor. He looked down at his daughter, her hand reached out to him and he gave her his finger. "I hope she comes back…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

I stumbled away from the crater and gazed up to the sky. "Thank you…" I murmured as I turned my attention to the planet below me. "Thank you for everything…"

"Hey!!!" I heard someone shout as I turned to look.

"Look! She's alive!" It was Yuffie that cried out.

I smiled weakly as Tifa, Barret, Cloud, Cid, Nanaki, and Cait Sith came running at me. "Hi guys…"

"Thank goodness!" Tifa called. "Vincent was so worried."

"Where is he?"

"Back at your home."

"Can you take me there…?"

"Of course missy. Get ye arse on that plane." Cid said with a smile.

"Thank you…" I smiled.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Vincent!!" I called as I ran off the plane and up to my home. "Vincent!"

Vincent opened the door. "Marie?"

"Vincent!" I smiled as I ran up to him.

"Marie!!" He answered as he opened his arms in time for me to leap into them.

"I was so worried I'd never come home." I cried as I buried my head into his neck.

"Me too Marie, me too…" He murmured into my hair.

"Momma!"

I turned to see a small girl with came running out.

"Eveleen?" I asked as I moved back to see her, she had raven hair and liquid gold eyes.

"She's growing up extremely fast. I assume that has something to do with why you went to the City of the Ancients?"

I nodded as I lifted my daughter into my arms. "She is the new race of Ancients…"

Vincent looked down at the smiling girl. "How?"

"come inside…" I answered as I lead the way. "I'll tell you everything." I stopped in the door way and gazed back at Vincent. "I love you… I'm so happy with you…"

He smiled at me as he leaned down and brushed his lips softly against mine. "I love you too." He touched my face softly. "I'm so happy with you. I wouldn't want life any other way."


End file.
